my 8 week old -- Ferris -- has never been a long nurser, but, he went from 6lbs 8oz when i brought him at 2 weeks of age from NICU, to 12lbs 4 oz on tuesday. So he has gained really well.

he started nursing better, and would stay latched on for a good 15 mins.

However, the last 4 days have been terrible. when i nurse him he is pulling off, crying like he wants more milk, but when he is latched on he is flailing his arms and legs. Im having a harder and harder time latching him on, and when he nurses, he makes a clicking sound with his tongue, which makes me think he isnt latched on really well

for those that havent seen any of my other posts, he takes prevacid 7.5 solutab 1 x a day,and, zantac 1 mil 3 x a day

we see a GI dr next wk

i have no clue whats going on, i have a lot of milk and a VERY heavy let down. could this be it? I have tried getting him to nurse, start the let down then pump a little off -- maybe im not pumping enough off, i dont know. I had over active let down with quinn and he had reflux but didnt have these many issues.

ferris also does these HUGE burps when I burp him. I change his diaper at least every 2 hours, and his pee is clear and he always has peed at least once in the diaper -- so im thinking im not straving him or he is not dehydrated.

last night he nursed for 5 mins every hour for like 4 hours straight and every time it ended up with him pulling off and crying.

Im scared im going to end up with a baby who goes down hill and starts refusing feeds, and has an oral adversion etc etc I wanted to go to BF club today in reno, but im sick and dont want to take the chance of getting any other little baby sick.

This will be quick, as my little nursling is fussing. :-)

A couple of things come to mind:

1. It literally could be something you ate. Perhaps something you've ingested has caused his reflux to flare and he's uncomfortable/looking to comfort feed.
2. The burps *could* be coming from him wanting to comfort feed and taking in lots of air. My dd used to do this--she'd be in pain, look to nurse, but wouldn't want all the milk I was letting down. She'd sort of 'halfway" latch on and would take in a lot of air. This just made things worse.
3. There could be some other reason his reflux is flaring and he's looking to comfort feed.
4. Is he doing this at every feed? Perhaps it's an issue of letdown...? I'm NOT an expert at letdown problems, so I'll let the other moms handle that one.

:hug: :hug:

Maybe he's getting too full too fast due to the heavy letdown??? Mine was really fast and in the beginning, it was almost like Ava was drowning. Especially after I'd been at work all day and hadn't pumped since lunch...it was like turning a pressure washer on her!

Maybe he's gulping to get it all in and is ingesting too much air, hence the mega burps? Have you tried some gas drops (simethicone) to see if it may make a difference 15 min before he eats?

I also used to nurse Ava almost completely upright...I propped her up on the arm of the couch.

I just talked to the lactation consultant and she thinks he is getting what he wants in a very short space of time, given the fact he has wet diapers every 2 hours at least, and is gaining well --

Im thinking that he wants to suck, but doesnt want the milk, and i let down several times during a period of nursing, so always have milk, so he cant comfort suck. he has a binky he just LOVES, and when he starts the kicking and crying if i give him that he settles right down, so its not a stomach pain, etc, or he would keep crying. Least I think so.

I dunno, im just stressed, Quinn (who is 2 1/2) had reflux, but he was, i guess a semi-happy refluxer, in that, it didnt give him as many issues as ferris has from it, the main one being the breathing issues of laboured breathing and chest retractions/nasal flaring.

I just dont need this feeding problem on top of all that poop, im sure you ladies understand that train of thought.

My amby bed is winging its way here, and should arrive tomorrow, i have been tracking it but it hasnt been scanned since tue at 4.30pm...grrrrr, so i dont know where it is now.

thanks for the info, i will keep perservering.

my peditrician just upped his zantac to 1.8ml 3 x a day, different baby after his higher dose this evening, nursed much better.

Hi!

I had to write when I saw you were living in Reno, NV! I lived there for about five years and moved to California in 2005. My husband accepted a job in California so we relocated.

I am glad the increased dose in zantac is working - I know it is very weight sensitive and needs to be adjusted accordingly. Your baby sounds just like mine as a newborn - she would make the oddest clicking nose with her tongue. She started off nursing GREAT, but after about three weeks or so she would pull off, try to nurse, scream, arch her back, and started making that same nose. I had no idea she had reflux (looking back at it she had it probably at 1 week old) until she stopped nursing and we were diagnosed by our pediatrician. I lost my milk supply and went to formula feeding. I am glad you are still able to nurse and the increased dose of zantac is working - my daughter would of been a great breastfeeder but I didnot catch the reflux in time.

I am glad you are getting into a ped GI - they are very helpful and hopefully can give you more advice. Hang in there - it gets better! I hope Reno is good!

i just saw this on the front page: Coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated) and alcohol increase the secretion of acid, and alcohol is an irritant. i have been drinking coffee lately, i wonder if thats what caused the issue.

Three things, from experience nursing three total, two with reflux.
1) Caffeine and other foods, such as broccoli, cabbage, onions, etc. can cause the baby to have excess gas.
2) My two with reflux were lactost intolerant, I had to cut ALL dairy out of my diet, it made a HUGE difference! Mine were so sensitive I could not even have a hotdog because it contains potassium lactate, even bread made with milk. No fun, but the difference in the pain was so much better it was worth it to me. And it's not forever, now that Will is 9 months I have begun having some milk products again.
3) If he is only nursing for a few minutes and not really nursing much past your letdown he is only getting foremilk. That is probably why he was nursing every hour, he was hungry but didn't really want to eat due to pain. They really need the milk after the letdown, the hindmilk, it has the protein and calories they need to stay full until the next feeding.
4) I know I said three...but I thought of another. Lactation consultants are great! and I could not have made it through nursing any of mine without them. That being said, it seems they will all tell you something different when asked the same question! Probably because there is no one answer that is right!

Glad the higher dose is working!
-Kim

I thought you would find these links helpful
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html

i think Ferris hates me, he was acting hungry, i tried to nurse him, he screamed and cried, so i gave him a bottle of expressed milk and he woofed it down all happy!

i dunno why

IMO that seems like a letdown issue if he took a bottle well. Have you tried block feeding to try and fix your letdown? You might need tp pump through 2 letdowns if one is still causing him to be fussy.

my little man does this when he has an ear infection. Just wanted you to know. He would take the bottle much better when doing this as well. Has his ears been checked?

Definitely sounds like over active letdown... (clicking, pulling away etc etc)

Have a look at these links...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVSepOct95p71.html

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/breastfeeding/a/colic_2.htm

I have been having a simaler problem. My little girl also does the clicking and will choke and gag when the milk is too fast. I have been doing the block feeding and it has helped alot. I only nurse from one side and if she stops to burp I will put her back on the same side. She is alos a major burper. She will burp while nursing and not even have to stop.

She also gets really gassy and fussy even though she burps well. I think she just gets a ton of air when she is chocking on the fast milk. I try to lay back as much as I can so she is working against gravity and I keep her as upright as I can.

She seems to be getting better and my milk seems to be slowing down.

I hope you get it all worked out soon.